Beauty and Cuteness in Peripheral Vision

Kana Kuraguchi, Kyoto Univ., Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

Hiroshi Ashida, Kyoto Univ., Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

Abstract

Previous research suggests that attractiveness is not only
detectable in the central visual field but also in the periphery. In Japan,
visual “attractiveness” of people is often described in terms of
beauty and cuteness (“kawaii”). We examined how perception of facial
attractiveness in those two aspects can be different in peripheral vision where
special resolution is deteriorated. Pairs of female face images were presented at
several eccentricities, and participants judged which was better in terms of
beauty or cuteness. The results showed that participants were able to judge both
beauty and cuteness in the periphery. The discrimination performance, however,
differed; beauty was more detectable in the periphery than in the parafovea,
while cuteness was more detectable in the parafovea. This result suggests that
detection of beauty might be ecologically more important for humans. Moreover,
there were some gender differences, which may reflect different meaning of facial
attractiveness for each gender.